The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has rejected former President Joe Biden's request to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of his interviews with a memoir ghostwriter.
In a divided ruling, the three-judge panel concluded that any remaining incursion on personal privacy from disclosure of the now-redacted materials does not outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
The court has kept an existing temporary block on disclosure in place through August 3, allowing Biden time to seek further review.
The recordings and transcripts in question were obtained during special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into Biden's handling of classified information.
Hur investigated Biden's handling of classified documents dating from his time as vice president in the Obama administration and as a U.S. senator from Delaware.
The plaintiff, a conservative think tank, has fought for over two years to retrieve the materials through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, arguing the public has an interest in reviewing the recordings and transcripts that Hur based his decision on.
Biden's attorneys have argued that the conversations during the memoir interviews were personal and intended to remain private, noting that Biden is now a private citizen not seeking public office.
The Justice Department had initially reversed its position in February and said it intended to disclose redacted versions of the recordings and transcripts to the plaintiffs and the House Judiciary Committee.
The decision has sparked debate, with some arguing that the public has a right to know more about Biden's handling of classified information, while others have expressed concerns about protecting personal privacy.
The implications of the ruling remain unclear, with Biden's attorneys likely to continue fighting to keep the recordings under wraps.
